Dental Assistant

Description:

The Michael E. DeBakey VA Medical Center, Dental Service, is seeking Dental Assistants to fill several vacancies in Houston. Dental Assistants provide routine patient care and perform some complex patient procedures under the general supervision of more experienced staff members or the treating dentist.

Requirements:

Applicants pending the completion of educational or certification/licensure requirements may be referred and tentatively selected but may not be hired until all requirements are met.

Basic Requirements :

• Basic Requirements :
• United States Citizenship: Non-citizens may only be appointed when it is not possible to recruit qualified citizens in accordance with VA Policy.
• English Language Proficiency. Candidates must be proficient in spoken and written English to be appointed as authorized by 38 U.S.C. § 7403(f).
• Experience and Education:
  • Experience. Six months experience that demonstrates the applicant's ability to perform the work, or provides familiarity with the work., OR
  • Education. Successful completion of a 1 year Dental Assistant program accredited by the American Dental Association's Commission on Dental Accreditation (CODA)., OR
  • Experience/Education Combination. Equivalent combinations of experience and education are qualifying.
• Certification. Public Law 97-35 requires that persons who administer radiologic procedures meet the credentialing standards in 42 CFR Part 75. Essentially, they must have successfully completed an educational program that meets or exceeds the standards described in that regulation, and is accredited by an organization recognized by the Department of Education, and be certified as radiographers in their field.
• Provisions for Certification of Radiologic Competence:
  • Successful completion of the Dental Radiation Health and Safety Examination administered by the Dental Assisting National Board, Inc., OR
  • Successful completion of the Principles and Practice of Dental Radiology and Radiographic Safety courses and examinations developed by the Assistant Under Secretary for Health for Dentistry., OR
  • Successful completion of a radiation health and safety program or examination approved by a state board of dentistry or the Department of Defense.
• Exception. Non-certified applicants who otherwise meet the eligibility requirements for certification of radiologic competence may be given a temporary appointment as a Graduate Dental Assistant under the authority of 38 U.S.C. § 7405(a)(1)(D). Failure to obtain certification during that period is justification for termination of the temporary appointment. This will result in removal from the GS-681 series and may result in termination of employment.

May qualify based on being covered by the Grandfathering Provision as described in the VA Qualification Standard for this occupation (only applicable to current VHA employees who are in this occupation and meet the criteria).

Grade Determinations :
GS-03
Experience or Education. None beyond the basic requirements.

GS-04
Experience or Education:
(1) In addition to the basic requirements, 1 year of experience at the next lower grade level (GS-03).
OR
(2) Two years of education above high school that included completion of a Dental Assistant program accredited by the American Dental Association's CODA.
AND
Demonstrated Knowledge, Skills, and Abilities (KSAs). In addition, the candidate must demonstrate the following KSAs:
1. Basic knowledge of infection control and safe instrument handling.
2. Basic knowledge of dental procedures and medical emergencies.
3. Ability to perform basic radiographic image capture and processing/retrieval.
4. Basic knowledge of maintenance, care and storage of dental equipment.
5. Basic knowledge of patient privacy requirements.

GS-05
Experience or Education:
(1) In addition to the requirements listed at GS-04 above, applicants must demonstrate at least 1 year of experience equivalent to the next lower grade level (GS-04) that demonstrates the core competencies described at that level.
OR
(2) Successful completion of a full 4 year course of study that included or was supplemented by completion of a Dental Assistant program by CODA.
AND
Demonstrated KSAs. In addition to meeting paragraph (1) or (2) above, the candidate must demonstrate the following KSAs:
1. Knowledge of anatomy and ability to evaluate diagnostic quality.
2. Broad knowledge of common medical emergencies and vital signs measurement.
3. Basic knowledge of instruments, materials and standardized dental procedures.
4. Ability to learn and utilize software programs used within VHA.
5. Basic communication skills to provide patient instructions according to established protocol.

GS-06
Experience. At least 1 year of experience equivalent to the next lower grade level (GS-05) that demonstrates the core competencies described at that level.
AND
Demonstrated KSAs. In addition, the candidate must demonstrate the following technical KSAs:
1. Ability to identify normal oral anatomy.
2. Advanced knowledge of instruments, materials, and standardized dental procedures used in all phases of restorative, surgical, endodontic and periodontal care and procedures.
3. Ability to monitor and perform basic interpretation of vital signs.
4. Ability to independently provide procedure-specific patient education and appropriate referral of patient concerns to treating dentist.
5. Ability to capture standard and special dental images of good diagnostic quality in traditional or digital formats.
6. Ability to perform maintenance on dental equipment used for routine and specialty dentistry.
7. Ability to enter and retrieve data utilizing electronic dental records.
8. Ability to perform Dental Assistant-appropriate laboratory procedures.

Preferred Experience:

• Experience planning dental procedures.
• Experience passing instruments safely, accurately, and efficiently (four-handed dentistry).
• Experience with intra-operative procedures within the standard infection control protocols.
• Experience independently exposing both standard and specialty dental imaging (i.e., TMJ, Ceph, Cone Beam) in traditional and/or digital formats.
• Experience taking clinically acceptable x-rays.
• Knowledge of Nomad Portable X-ray Devices.
• Experience correctly mounting images in CPRS/DRM Plus System within the desired timeframe and can minimize retakes.
• Ability to work independently and with multiple providers daily in a fast-paced environment.
• Ability to meet the needs of customers and effectively communicate dental terminology with the customer and the dental team.
• Ability to effectively interact in a professional & courteous manner with supervisor and other employees to facilitate the accomplishment of the work of the organization.
• Knowledgeable in all areas of dentistry including; General, Periodontics, Prosthodontics, Endodontics and other areas if called to perform.

Reference: For more information on this qualification standard, please visit https://www.va.gov/ohrm/QualificationStandards/ .

The full performance level of this vacancy is GS-06. The actual grade at which an applicant may be selected for this vacancy is in the range of GS-03 to GS-06.

Physical Requirements: Physical aspects associated with work required of this assignment are typical for the occupation, see Duties section for essential job duties of the position. May require standing, lifting, carrying, sitting, stooping, bending, puling, and pushing. May be required to wear personal protective equipment and undergo annual TB screening or testing as conditions of employment.

Work Environment: Work is performed in an office/clinic setting with minimal risks that requires normal safety precautions; the area is adequately lighted, heated, and ventilated. However, the work environment requires someone with the ability to handle several tasks at once in sometimes stressful situations.